Leonard’s gaze lingered on Yellian’s lips for only a few seconds, but to Leonard, that time felt unusually long. He couldn’t understand why those lips appeared so vivid to him.
“My lord!”
Only when Yellian raised their voice and called out to him again did Leonard snap out of it. He looked at Yellian with an impassive expression, as if nothing had happened. And truthfully, if one were to nitpick, nothing had really happened. There was no need to feel guilty.
“What is it?”
“Someone’s knocking outside.”
Only then did Leonard hear the knocking. He was quite shocked to realize he hadn’t even noticed the sound. Of course, he made an effort not to show it. Leonard responded to the knock as casually as possible.
“What is it?”
“I’ve brought the physician.”
“Let them in.”
Leonard reached to unlatch the carriage door but hesitated. Yellian, wondering why, craned their neck to look at Leonard. As if sensing their gaze, Leonard turned to look at Yellian. Their eyes met in midair.
“I’m warning you, if you run away one more time, I’ll cut off both your ankles.”
“Th-that’s animal cruelty!”
“So, you’re finally admitting you’re an animal.”
“That’s not what I meant! Anyway, don’t cut them off!”
“Instead of begging me not to cut your ankles, you should be promising not to run away.”
“…….”
Unable to argue against the valid point, Yellian shut their mouth without a retort. Leonard looked at Yellian with a skeptical gaze. Feeling his stare, Yellian reluctantly mumbled a response.
“I won’t run away or anything. Really.”
“…….”
“You’re not going to believe me even if I say it.”
At Leonard’s utterly cold reaction, Yellian muttered under their breath. Despite having committed many wrongs, they seemed to feel unjustly treated. Leonard, faced with such audacity, suppressed a scoff and shook his head.
Leonard opened the door while blocking the entrance as much as possible with his large frame. It was impossible for someone of Yellian’s size to push past Leonard and escape through the door. If they were in a cat’s body, they might have slipped through a small gap, though.
Besides, with an injured leg right now, even if they were in a cat’s body, they likely wouldn’t be able to escape quickly.
Regardless of the reasons, Yellian had no intention of running away at the moment. They were barely covered by just a coat, and their leg was injured.
Moreover, having failed to escape twice already, Yellian knew Leonard’s anger had reached its limit. If they tried to run now and got caught, it wouldn’t be surprising if their ankles really did get chopped off.
While Yellian was imagining the horrific scenario of losing their ankles, the physician climbed into the carriage. The physician, wearing a monocle, seemed frozen with fear of Leonard. Whether or not that was the case, Leonard spoke in a stern voice about Yellian’s condition.
“Their leg is injured.”
“I-I’ll take a look.”
The physician examined Yellian’s leg. When he pressed hard on the wound, Yellian let out a scream of pain.
“Agh!”
Cold sweat beaded on their forehead. Seeing this, Leonard asked in a chilling voice.
“What are you doing right now?”
“I-I, um… I was trying to see how deep the wound is… I-I’m sorry! P-please, spare my life…….”
The physician bowed so low it was as if he were lying flat on the ground, pleading for mercy.
Watching this, Yellian couldn’t help but recall the Leonard from the original story. A man without blood or tears, rumored to be so cold that even a needle would break if it tried to pierce him-this was a moment where Leonard’s true nature shone through.
Come to think of it, despite knowing Leonard’s cold-blooded and merciless disposition, Yellian had never actually witnessed his cruelty in person. Sure, there were talks of flaying someone alive, but he had never actually acted on it.
Feeling a discrepancy between the Leonard of the original story and the one they knew, Yellian stole a glance at him. Leonard was staring at their injured thigh with deep, dark eyes.
“……Damn it. I should’ve flayed them alive after all.”
……Gulp.
At Leonard’s muttered words, spoken as if chewing on them, Yellian swallowed dryly. Of course, Yellian wasn’t the only one frozen in fear. The physician, who had been pulling out bandages, also stopped mid-action, completely petrified.
Four pairs of eyes, overwhelmed by fear and with nowhere to turn, met in the air. They belonged to Yellian and the physician.
The two, who had done nothing wrong yet were preemptively terrified, read an indescribable fear in each other’s eyes. For a fleeting moment, they felt a sense of camaraderie.
“What are you two doing?”
“Hic, nothing! It’s nothing!”
“N-nothing at all!”
At Leonard’s menacing question, sensing the strange tension, the two responded without even taking a breath.
If one were to be precise, the two truly hadn’t done anything. Their eyes had merely met, and they had sympathized with each other’s plight. But with Leonard asking in such a sinister tone, they felt as if they had committed a grave sin.
“Hurry up and treat them.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
The physician bowed repeatedly before turning his attention to Yellian’s wound. Noticing the physician’s expression turn serious, Leonard, uncharacteristically, grew anxious.
“Is it serious? Is their condition that bad?”
“No, that’s not it……. When did this injury happen?”
At the physician’s question, Leonard looked at Yellian. Understanding that his gaze meant to answer quickly, Yellian cautiously opened their mouth while gauging his mood.
“It hasn’t been long. Less than an hour, I think.”
“……That’s impossible.”
At Yellian’s response, the physician looked astonished before examining the wound again. Sensing something unusual in his reaction, Leonard’s face hardened.
“What’s the matter?”
“Well…… the wound is already healing.”
“What……?”
At the physician’s answer, Leonard looked at Yellian’s thigh before shifting his gaze to their face.
Yellian, who had done nothing wrong and didn’t even know their leg was healing, somehow felt compelled to gauge Leonard’s reaction.
“This rate of recovery is unbelievable. For a normal person, it would take at least three or four days to heal this much. But for the wound to heal this much in just an hour-it’s unheard of.”
Astonishment soon turned into curiosity. The physician’s eyes gleamed as he examined Yellian, as if he had discovered a new test subject.
“……Just focus on treating them. No unnecessary talk. And keep today’s events to yourself. If word of this reaches anyone else’s ears, you’ll bear full responsibility.”
“Y-yes, sir! Understood!”
Fortunately, Leonard’s threat was highly effective. The physician, who had been eyeing Yellian with curiosity just moments ago, quickly lowered his head and focused on treating Yellian’s wound.
It didn’t take long for the treatment to finish. Though Yellian nearly fainted from the excruciating pain during the dressing of the wound, the process itself wasn’t lengthy, so they managed to endure it.
Since the wound had been reopened for dressing, the throbbing pain was worse than before. Yellian bit their lip, trying to bear the pain.
“It’s done! I’ll arrange for oral medication to be delivered separately.”
“Fine. Someone outside will take care of your payment when you leave.”
“Thank you!”
Leonard barely acknowledged the thanks as he opened the carriage door. Having practically chased the physician out, Leonard, now alone with Yellian, fixed them with a sharp gaze.
“Why, why are you looking at me like that…….”
Thoroughly intimidated, Yellian tried to read Leonard’s mood. With plenty to feel guilty about, Yellian had to quickly figure out why Leonard was reacting this way.
“Yellian, answer my question honestly.”
“W-what question?”
“If you lie, know that your ankles will be gone.”
True to his reputation as the mad duke, he kept threatening someone’s perfectly fine ankles. Yellian, suddenly worried about the safety of their ankles, felt a surge of frustration but knew they lacked the power to argue. Thus, they could only pitifully pout and nod.
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